Dear !*TITLE*! !*LASTNAME*!,A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!
We are back in business in the year of the Horse after a fairly long holiday season. Hope that all of my readers hopefully had relaxing and invigorating time off and are ready to face all the challenges in the year ahead.
Our first event in 2014 is a joint event with the Swedish and Norwegian Chambers - A Team Building Bowling Competition on Tuesday, 28 January. Read more below!
Stay tuned for more exiting and interesting events in my coming bulletins!

The Swedish Chamber (SCCJ) has kindly invited the other Nordic Chambers to one of their most popular annual events, the Team Building Bowling Competition held at Tokyo Port Bowl in Shibaura.
Professional Bowlers, beginners are equally most welcome! It is a team competition, each team consists of four player and each player play two games. Make your own team with your colleagues and business partners, spouses are very welcome!
Details:

Friday, 24 January - JMEC 20 Shinnenkai PartyCOME CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR! hosted by Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown
Always a fun night out - enjoy the food, have fun and catch up with new and old JMEC friends!
Who knows what lucky prizes you may win!
Date & Time: Friday, 24 January, 2014
18:30 - 21:30Tickets: ¥3,500 pre-paid by card, ATM, convenience store
¥4,000 cash at the door.

Ticket includes Oakwood's delicious dining buffet & 2 alcohol drinks.

Free flow of non-alcoholic beverages with extra drinks are ¥500, cash at the bar.

Access: Oakwood Premier Tokyo MidTown, 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku. Map
This Shinnenkai is a special occassion as we are also celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the JMEC program. The event is open for all JMEC alumni and supporters—and anyone else interested in associating with the JMEC network.
To register on-line, click the link at right!

News from Finland
Study: Finns trust President most; opposition least
A study by the Foundation for Municipal Development shows that while Finns think the media are trustworthy, they trust the president more. Respondents in the survey said they trust the countryfs opposition parties least, along with businesses, employers and local government heads.
The survey by the Foundation attempted to gauge Finnsf feelings about eight central institutions in society. Researchers found that Finns place the most confidence in the office of the President, followed by the media, parliament, trade unions, the government, local decision makers, businesses and employers, with opposition parties trailing the line-up.
As many as 70 percent of roughly 1,000 respondents surveyed said they either trusted the president to a high or very high degree.
The second most-trusted institution in Finnish society are the mass media, supported by 54 percent of the interviews. The parliament and trade unions enjoyed the confidence of 40 percent, narrowly edging out the government, with a 39 percent rating.
The study showed that respondents felt the least trustworthy institutions included the opposition parties, whom just a quarter said they trusted fully.

Grin of the WeekA perfectly good reason
Judge: Is there any reason you could not serve as a juror in this case?
Juror: I don't want to be away from my job that long.
Judge: Can't they do without you at work?
Juror: Yes, but I don't want them to know it.

A final note; if you participated in the Scandinavian Christmas Ball and have not yet submitted the participants' survey, please do so by clicking here. The survey will close on Friday.
Best regards
Clas G. Bystedt

If you have any comments, rumors, gossip or inside information, send it to: fccj@gol.com

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN
This bulletin is
published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and
distributed to over 650 recipients among its members and related
organizations. FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and
economic exchange between Japan and Finland and has today 64 corporate
members, 12 individual and one special member.